New gaming PC, 2 options to choose from

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Hello everyone, as this is my first post here. I currently have an extremely outdated system.

AMD Athlon XP 2600+ 2.00GHZ
2 GB of memory
Radeon X1300 Graphics card
160GB hard drive

Now I will be upgrading this dinosaur around tax time next year.

A couple of questions......

1.) Should I be asking this question next year, as tech is being updated as fast as Usain Bolt.

2.) If I could get 1 of these 2 gaming systems, which would you guys approve of?

System 1:

Intel i7 CPU : Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core) 8000K

Intel i7 CPU Fans : Thermaltake P0532 Copper Base & Heat Pipes Socket 1366 CPU fan

Intel i7 Motherboards : MSI X58 Pro, DDR3, Cross Fire, GB LAN, iEEE

DDR3 Triple Channel memory : 3GB (3x1GB) PC3 8500 DDR3 1066 Triple Channel

PCI-Express Video cards : GeForce 9400GT 1GB PCI EXpress 16X dual head, tv out

Hard Drives : 1000.0GB Maxtor/ Seagate 7200rpm SATA2 UDMA 300 32m Cache

DVD Recorders : Lite On 20x DVD Recorder Dual Layer +R/RW -R/RW

DVD Recorders : Lite On 20x DVD Recorder Dual Layer +R/RW -R/RW

Media Card Readers : 12-in-1 Memory Card Reader Internal Black

Sound Cards : Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1

Network Cards : Ethernet network adapter (onboard)

Cases : APEVIA X-Cruiser Black, Side Window, front USB,iEEE,Temp control

Power Supply : Thermaltake Puerpower 500W ATX Power Supply

Total Price: US $1,132.00

System 2:

AMD 64 CPU AM2+/ AM3 : AMD Phenom II 940 3.0GHz (Quad Core) 45nm, AM2+ 6MB Cache

AMD 64 CPU Fans : OCZ Vanquisher Intel EXTRA QUIET Vertical HeatPipe Copper fan

AMD 64 AM2+/AM3 Motherboards : ASUS M3N72-D ,Onboard Video, HDMI, SLI PCI-EX, GB LAN, iEEE

DDR2 memory : 8GB (4x2GB) PC5300 DDR2 667 Dual Channel

PCI-Express Video cards : GeForce 9400GT 1GB PCI EXpress 16X dual head, tv out

Hard Drives : 1000.0GB Maxtor/ Seagate 7200rpm SATA2 UDMA 300 32m Cache

DVD Recorders : Lite On 20x DVD Recorder Dual Layer +R/RW -R/RW

DVD Recorders : Lite On 20x DVD Recorder Dual Layer +R/RW -R/RW

Media Card Readers : 12-in-1 Memory Card Reader Internal Black

Sound Cards : Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1

Network Cards : Ethernet network adapter (onboard)

Cases : APEVIA X-Cruiser Black, Side Window, front USB,iEEE,Temp control

Power Supply : Thermaltake Puerpower 500W ATX Power Supply

Total price: US $968.00

Now both of these systems are coming from MICRO ONE COMPUTERS on e-bay where you can configure it yourself. I tried to make both of them similar. But the only thing that's not similar is the price difference, which is $164.00.

So.......what do you think?
 
knappy,
a lot...and i mean a lot will change both in tech and deals you can get. for example just in the next couple of month s AMD is bringing out DX11, and intel will have the 32nm I7 cpu's out, i would revisit your buying decision when you get a little closer to it. :)
 
And if this is really a gaming machine I would definitely ditch that video card. I would barely use that card in a fileserver. I'd even get rid of one of the optical drives and add the money to the video card - even an additional $20-30 will make a huge difference on your game performance. It seems almost a waste to have such fast processors and a slow video card.
 
Exactly as LNCPapa puts it. Your CPU will be limited by your graphics card. Think of at least the HD4870 (or GTX 260) and above. :)

Also, if you could hold off a few moths, do so 'coz as red says there is already a great change brewing in the hardware industry. :)
 
Thanks.....

Thanks guys for your quick reply's, I appreciate it and will consider the options that you have given me. Any more opinions?
 
i would not get those two prebuilt systems, 9400GT Lol.

1. i would build my own.

2. i would till next year when newer stuff comes out.
 
2. i would till next year when newer stuff comes out.

You'll be waiting forever if that's the case. There's always new stuff about to come out. As far as I see it the Core i7 should be a decent setup until it's time for another upgrade (although you did have that 2600+ for quite some time if you got it new.) You're not going to find much that's faster than an i7 setup these days. The i5 benchmarks I've seen don't perform any better than the i7's already out.
 
The i5 benchmarks I've seen don't perform any better than the i7's already out.

Really? I heard they were disappointing in raw processing but gave a sizable boost to gaming FPS. Have I been misled?

Oh, and for $1100 you can do better.
 
System 1 looks pretty more cool, you can also check out the intel new Quad to core processor that one is too cool.
 
You'll be waiting forever if that's the case. There's always new stuff about to come out. As far as I see it the Core i7 should be a decent setup until it's time for another upgrade (although you did have that 2600+ for quite some time if you got it new.) You're not going to find much that's faster than an i7 setup these days. The i5 benchmarks I've seen don't perform any better than the i7's already out.

that's true LNC, there is always something new around the corner, the reason i said that is because there is a lot of big happening all at once at the end of the year, like the 32nm i7's (supposedly) and the introduction of the DX11 equipment.
 
I would recommend this system, with the following parts specifically:


* CASE: NZXT Zero 2 Crafted Series Steel Full Tower Case (Black Color Trim)
* Neon Light Upgrade: NONE
* Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
* POWER SUPPLY Upgrade: Corsair Power Supplies (650 Watts CMPSU-650TX - Quad SLI Ready)
* CPU: AMD Phenom™II X3 720 Black Edition Triple-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
* FREEBIES: None
* COOLING FAN : Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V Gaming CPU Cooling Fan (Double layer H.D.T. technology for maximum cooling)(Venom Boost Extreme OC Certified)
* MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 790X CrossFire Chipset with Quad PCIE slot SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN, USB2.0, IEEE1394, &7.1Audio
* MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
* FREEBIES: None
* VIDEO CARD: ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCI-E 16X 1GB DDR5 Video Card (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
* VIDEO CARD 2: None
* Free Game: None
* MULTIPLE VIDEO CARD SETTINGS: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
* LCD Monitor: NONE
* 2nd Monitor: NONE
* HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (1TB (1TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
* Data Hard Drive: NONE
* USB PORTABLE DRIVE: NONE
* Optical Drive: (Special Price) LG 22X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive (BLACK COLOR)
* Optical Drive 2: 16X DVD ROM (BLACK COLOR)
* SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
* SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
* NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
* MODEM: NONE
* KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
* MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
* Extra Thermal Display : NONE
* Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card
* Bluetooth: None
* Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
* VIDEO CAMERA: NONE
* PRINTER: None
* PRINTER CABLE: None
* IEEE CARD: NONE
* USB PORT: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
* FLOPPY: NONE
* OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1 (64-bit Edition)
* Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon: (Free Upgrade Coupon) Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium ($29-$29 Mail-In-Rebate = Free) (64-bit Edition)
* FREEBIES: None
* Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner: None
* SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
* RUSH SERVICE: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS

Do remember to go through all the options carefully for any freebies you may be eligible for.
 
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